Delta-12 fatty acid desaturase (also known as oleic desaturase or oleate desaturase) is involved in the enzymatic conversion of oleic acid to linoleic acid.
Varieties with high level of oleic acid (possibly combined with low level of linolenic acid) are sought for many different applications (food applications, health applications, biodiesel applications and many others).
Mutant seeds providing an oil exhibiting a high oleic acid content (oleic acid content higher that 70 wt. % based upon the total weight of fatty acids present in the oil) previously reported in the literature had very poor agronomic value and/or bad root characteristics, and/or very low yield capacity.
There is still a need for material having stable, high oleic acid content (possibly combined with stable low linolenic acid content) across locations and across years, with also good agronomic performances and with normal oilseed rape morphology. In particular, the plants should have no fasciation and should have normal root development.